The Back of the Eyelids
by 4thFromTheFurnace
Summary: While awaiting any more news from the King, Kairi wanders back to the Secret Place, where she finds Sora, who was thinking back to when it all began. -SoraxKairi-


** Part of my Christmas Gift Fic Bonanza! For all purposes everyone reading this knows that I do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did…358/2 Days…and Kingdom Hearts II…well, they would've looked a little different.**

He stroked his fingers over the white marks, tracing his fingertips around the grooves in the rock. Memories came flooding back to his mind like a rush of fresh rainwater in a storm. He was home. After so long, he was finally home. It almost felt as though it wasn't his home anymore. He must have missed so much while he was gone. As his hand traced over the drawing he remembered the most, he stopped and stooped to one knee. He gently pressed his hand to the part of the picture that he had drawn: the picture of the one that he had worked so hard to protect. As he shut his eyes, he could almost see brief flashes in his mind of the past year. He could hardly believe that he was here, back home, with her.

Everything that had happened…it was all so surreal. Now that he was home, he had to keep reminding himself that it wasn't a dream. _She_ wasn't a dream.

She bit the inside of her cheek, rubbing her lips against each other nervously. As she used one hand to brush through her hair and the other to straighten out her skirt, her mind began to wander. Why was she so skittish? She had known him for so long? Why now, of all times, did her stomach churn at the thought of seeing him again? It made it worse that she was a bit hungry.

It felt so strange, to have him back. She was convinced that she would wait an eternity. The memories of him became the treasures that she held close to her heart. Those memories became the closest thing that she had to actually having him there with her. She clung to them as though she expected them to be the last and only thing she would ever have of him.

As the redhead heaved a heavy sigh, she brushed her hand over the green leaves adorning the entrance to the Secret Place, trying to force herself to make up her mind as to whether or not she wanted to enter it.

He brought his knees around to sit cross-legged on the ground, taking a nearby stick and proceeding to draw scribbles in the dirt. He couldn't bring himself to get up to go find her, yet he wanted to see her so badly. Did he feel guilty for leaving her all that time? Maybe she would have never gotten caught up in this mess if he had protected her. He shook his head. No, this had to have happened for a reason.

None of that was important right now anyway. He glanced back up at the walls, then at the closed door. He slowly got to his feet, his azure eyes scanning the framework of the mysterious door that had opened once a year before. His fingers reached up to touch the gold engraving when he heard a familiar voice behind him, nearly making him jump, "Do you miss it?"

He turned around to take in the sight of the feminine figure before him, his mouth stumbling for any sounds that at all that resembled words. Somehow, he kept forgetting how beautiful she was, "K-Kairi!"

She hunched her shoulders and gave a small smile, folding her hands behind her back as she strode towards him with subtle, gentle steps. His eyes darted around him for a minute, his mouth hanging open awkwardly as he tried to remember what she had said. She had asked him something, but what was it? Was it important?

The girl came to a stop next to him, staring at the old wood of the knob-less door. She closed her eyes and smiled, breathing in the slightly dank musk of the cave mixed with the salt breeze wafting in from the sea, "Close your eyes, Sora."

Her friend finally let out a heavy breath and turned to face the door as well, occasionally glancing at the redhead out of the corner of his eye before his eyelids finally shut. Finally, she spoke softly, her eyes still closed, "What do you see?"

"The back of my eyelids." He replied, a classic smarmy tinge in his answer.

She smirked and rolled her eyes, "What do you hear?"

Sora answered, his voice casual, accented with his usual cheer, "I hear you talking."

She chuckled, "Other than that."

He bit his lip and listened for a few minutes, "Um, I hear the ocean."

"And?"

"And the wind, and the seagulls, and the rustling of the leaves outside, and the echoes of the cave." He answered truthfully, still having no idea why she was doing this.

"Okay. What do you smell?"

The boy breathed in, "I smell…saltwater, the cave…and…flowers?"

He could hear her try to mask a small laugh, "'Kay, so where does the flower smell come from?"

Sora sniffed a couple times, testing to see where the smell became stronger. He stepped cautiously, his arms in front of him, now curious as to where the smell was coming from. The closer he got to the smell, however, the louder he could hear his friend's giggles. Finally, the smell became strongest as Kairi's laugh echoed in his ears again, this time, much louder. His eyes shot open as he realized that the smell of flowers was coming from her hair. He stumbled back a few steps, noticing how close he was to her.

Yet, Kairi only laughed. Finally, her eyes came back to rest on the door again, "I missed you."

Sora turned to look at her before hastily glancing away as she continued, "To be honest, I didn't think I'd see you again. I kept hoping that you would come back and I kept staring over the horizon, expecting to see a black dot signaling your return. But, then I realized. Even if it would have meant that I would be putting myself in danger, maybe waiting wasn't good enough. And I…I missed you too much. I couldn't wait any longer."

His blue eyes rested on her for a few moments. She glanced over at him, pointing to the delicate wreath of white flowers around her head, "I made it myself. You wouldn't have noticed if I didn't tell you somehow."

The brunet pursed his lips in a slight pout before turning his gaze back to the door, "Kairi?"

Her eyes held on his face as his blue orbs traveled to the ground, "I uh…I really…umm..."

A slight smile crossed her face as her slender hand meandered its way to his gloved hand, entwining her fingers with his own. Sora gulped, trying to focus his eyes on the decaying wood as a slight blush crept up to his face, "This is kinda where it started, isn't it?"

Kairi bit her lip and repeated her first question, "So, do you miss it?"

Sora tilted his head, "Miss what?"

She responded with a small grin, "The adventure."

Unconsciously, his fingers slowly curled around hers, "Are you kidding? And have to leave you behind again? No way!" he answered, on his face a look of childish sincerity.

She gave his hand a small tug as she knelt beside the cave drawings, "Did you ever expect it to wind up like this?"

Sora awkwardly sat down next to her, their hands still tied together, as if it had always been that way, "Nope. Why? Do you wish it would've been different?"

A crooked smile spread across her pale face, "Not at all. If this past year had been any different, then I don't think I'd have ever known what it'd be like to want to be with someone so much; and I don't think I'd ever know what it'd be like to want to hold memories that close."

Boom. The Keyblade Wielder couldn't feel his brain anymore, let alone try to keep the blood from rushing to his head. At the response of silence, he could barely hear her utter his name, "Sora…?"

She slowly pulled her hand away from his so she could wrap her arms around her knees and stare up at the stream of sunlight that was creeping in through a hole in the ceiling. The cave was silent for a few moments as Sora leaned back on his hands, staring up at the glimmer of sunlight as well. Finally, her voice broke the stillness, "There definitely was a reason it happened this way. Looking back on it, I wish you could have been here, but now I know. If it didn't start here, in this spot, then you would have never gotten the Keyblade. You would have never gotten to travel to other worlds and save them and all those people. You would have never defeated the darkness and you would have never met any of the people you met on the way. Almost like, darkness was supposed to swallow this world, so that the light could come back brighter, so that everyone can see…and the ones who were in darkness can come back."

This time, Sora gathered the words to speak, "When I was away from the islands, I finally realized…how much you m-mean to me. We wanted so badly to get away from this place, but after I left, all I could think about was going back, with you and Riku."

She responded softly, "Close your eyes."

He obeyed, his nose wrinkling suspiciously. She rose to her hands and knees, waving her hand in front of his eyes to make sure he wasn't peeking before she spoke, "Now, can you see me…or feel me?"

The brunet shook his head. She continued, "But, do you know that I'm still next to you?"

He nodded, and after a few moments, her voice came once more, "Sora. Even if you can't see me, hear me, or feel me, I'll always be with you. And Riku too. Like the light. Right here."

The girl slowly put her hand to his chest, feeling his heart beat rapidly under her palm. She suddenly felt his large grasp cover her hand as his bright blue eyes opened to meet her stare. As if reminded of something, he turned his head to look at the wall, a remnant of pink still on his cheeks, "The drawing…Did you…"

She glanced at the drawing as though she knew he what he was going to say and gave a timid nod, "The paopu fruit…" her voice faded.

His other hand shakily came to rest on her shoulder. He stared at the dirt for a few seconds, "I don't…want you to just be in my heart…or in my memories. I want you to be here."

It was something unspoken. She knew that he didn't want her to stay in that cave or at Destiny Islands. It was something they both understood. Though she already knew, she still wanted him to say it, "Where, Sora?"

His attention returned to her eyes, his childlike nature evident in his cheeky grin, "Where I can take the flowers from your hair."

As his hand reached for her circlet of flowers, she swatted his hand away only to be tugged against him as he wrapped his arms around her. Uttering a squeak of surprise, she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck. Sora held her tightly, as if he was afraid that she would up and disappear again at any moment.

_Kairi…_

Slowly, he leaned back on the wall of rock, still hugging her to his chest. She leaned her head against his collarbone as her eyes slipped shut. He almost looked exhausted as he leaned his head back against the rock. His eyelids fluttered, unable to keep all of the dark, most torturing memories from repeating over and over in his head, plaguing his heart with all the fears and sadness of the past. Kairi sighed and nuzzled her face reassuringly against his chest.

_Sora, can you feel the warmth of the sun on your eyes?_

They stayed like that for a long time. His shoulders relaxed as he exhaled, his almost labored breathing beginning to slow. Kairi could feel the stress he had been under. So much fighting…to protect everyone. It had to have taken a toll on him.

_It's okay. You're home._

She tilted her head until her lips were beside his ear, "Close your eyes, Sora."

As his eyes slipped shut, the darkness on the back of his eyelids once again changed into a reel of flashbacks in his mind.

The Seventh Princess of Heart pulled away until she was face to face with the Keyblade Wielder. Her hand left his neck to cradle the side of his face in her palm. She used her other hand to brush his chocolate bangs out of his face. Kairi let her face hover close to his, brushing her nose against her friend's face as her breath loomed over his mouth. She could feel his breaths quicken as he exhaled, her heart beginning to pound like the roar of waves in her ears. The young woman closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the beam of sunlight on her eyelids.

Her voice nearly cracked when she whispered innocently, her words nearly shaking, "I'm hungry. Would you…share a paopu with me, Keyblade Master?"

"_This girl, does she mean a lot to you?"_

_**Yeah. More than anything…**_

**The Cheeseball strikes again! I honestly never thought I'd be writing a "SoKai". So much for that. I even actually like this one. Thanks for reading, everyone! Tell me what you think! God bless you and I'll be praying for you! Tootles!**


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